Filling-feeler mechanism.



w. H. RANKIN;

F ILLING FEELER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT, 2, 1915.

1,17 9%. Patented June 13, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W. H RANKIN.

FILLlNG FEELER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.2, 1915.

l 1 7,694. Patented June 13, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2. J6

m-mw

EMTED ENT-Twe th WILLIAM HQ BANHN; o1? vviiLrrimivi, messfA oHUsETms;

FILLING-meme miioi'eelvism;

ToaZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. RANKiN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Waltham, in the county ofliilicldlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented cer- 'tain nev and useful Improvements in Fill- 'ing-Feeler Mechanisms; and I do hereby declare theffollowing to be a' full, clear,

f and exact description of the inventiom-such as will enable others skilled in the wt to whichiit appez'teins to make and use the same. 1'

The present inventionrela-tes to an improvement in filling feeler niechenisins for V looms and more particularly, tonn improve" ment in such mechanisms for Weft replen- In Weaving" high grade fabrics, it is desimble that no short wefts should be Woven into the cloth. Aecorclinglyj loo-ins have been provided With I'nechenisnis for determining the Ennount of filling on the bobbin in theizictive shuttle; and when the filling has been exhenstetl'to a predeterminedex tent, that is,--when there is only enough filling left on the bobbin to snfiice for two or three picks-across the lay, -clevices are. brought 111120 operation to efiect either the stoppage of the loom or filling replenishment. These mechanisms for determining the amount 'offillinp; in the active shuttle, and the; connections between them and the clevicesfor causing loom stoppage or filling;

replenishment,have hitherto been more 01" 3,5 flew compli'zit'ed, with the result that owing devices controlled by them are subject ind-- to th'ejexcessive jars to which they and the dent to the operation of'theloom, such mechanisms have often failed, to detect critical exhaustion of thefilling, that'is to say, exhaustion of the filling to a j'iredef terminetlextent, Consequently, the filling onthe bobbin has been often entirely eX- Jheusted ahd :1 short Weft woven into the cloth, thereby impairing its quality. 4

One object [of the present invention;

thei' e fore, is thedproduetion of" a filling feele'z'. mechanism which will operate with ceptainty'teeil'ect loom stoppage or filling replenishmentwvhen the filling on the bob-Q bin has been exhausted to an extent beyondf mwhich' 'it is unsafe to go because of the tie,

the fzibric.

Ai i iuther' object of the invention i s-to 'Specificati'on of Lette s TEatent pastentedflune 13., 19356. I Application filed s tembere, 1915. seriai'i-xo. 45,: I

simplify the construction and arrangement of the connections between the filling. feeler;

niech ani sin thereby, r e v v N Another ob ect of the; invention is the end the: devices controlled production ofe' filling feeler mechanism (if lt'lsepphed to e loom. of the Weft ifeplen ishing type), having provisionvvherebythe feele'r may be utilized .to prevent the ope'i ation of the? Weft" replenishing mecha- .nism in :case the shuttle. is improperly boxedQ A still further" object of is to pi odzzee aflfilling feelei zinechenism in. l

which the. filling feeler" is 'constructejdand examined to be withdrawn exit of the shut of. filling the active shuttle and before in certain novel constructions and arrange after the determination-of theeinonnt ments of parts, the eclvent'eg es of -Which will be apparent to thosefskilled in the aft. To the accomplishment. of these various objects, the ."p esent invention contemplates a" filling feelermeehe'iiisih mounted. upon the sem'e enclof thelooh with the filling replenishing mechanism, atndhaving v piovision, upon predetermined exhausti 1120f filling. in the setive'shuttle, for positioning the/pelts of the Weft feplenishing nechm nisin so that Jfiiling i'eplenishmen't may 'vbe effected iipon'the sameiforwei'd beat of the lay upon which the filling feeling exhans tion is indicated. 'llhe inea is'bywvhichthe filling. feeler mechanism" opemtivjel aposi-r tions therti ensfer 'e pdw e-S bfltlleflwfi reg i plenishing'; mechanism 'coir'npri' s'es on ectneg biroughtgint engagement tor indented to b withthe iransiferr it devices so that, ffwhen' critical exhaustion e'f filling is incli'cstal, 1

the devi ces'iw ill be positioned l in the path of abunter on the'ley end the operation of the eft replenishing; -mecl enism; eflectn eteclii W WVhile the nism oftlie ilivention- 'sfillustrated fancl described siee iee to e w e, replenishing loom, it will be understood that the appliinip oveel f feeler meshes cation of the invention is not limited to weft replenishing'looms but may be used in connection with other types of loomsl The various, features of the present invention are described in the following specification and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrat I 2 with portions of the transferrer hammer and shuttle magazine removed.

The loom to which the improved filling feeler mechanism is applied may be of any usual or preferred construction, that shown in the illustrated embodiment of the invention being an ordinary four-color loom. The lay 5 is mounted upon a lay sword 6 pivoted at 7 to the loom frame 8. ,7 An oscil ntory movement is imparted to the lay from v the crank shaft 9 by a pitman 10. On the lit-hand end of the lay is located a fixed s uttle. box 11, and on the left-hand endof the lay are located the vertically shifting shuttle boxes 13; A horizontally reciprocating filling magazine 14-is mountedon the right-hand end of the loom over the path of movement. of the fixed shuttle box" 11. The filling magazine 14 slides .upon a magazine support 15 secured to the loom frame. A lip 16 projecting laterally from.

the magazine support 15 prevents the heads of the filled bobbins 17 from displacement,;

except when they are positioned over the shuttlewhen it is boxed at the right-hand end of the lay. To permitthe insertion of a filled bobbin into the active shuttle, the lip 16 is cqt away i at thatplace which is directly over the right-hand shuttle box when the lay is on its forward fcenter. The filling magazine 14 has as many compartments as there are shifting boxes and each compartment 'cdntai'ns'a supply of filling'of the same color and'chai'acter as the filling in the corresponding shifting shuttle box. The shifting shuttle boxes are reciprocate-d vertically in order tth. present a shuttle con taining filling of e pi'oper color to the picker, and the filling magazine is reciprocated horizontally in t edrelation with the reciprocations of t e shifting shuttle boxes. The reciprocatory movement is im parted to the shifting shuttle boxes by an arm 18 controlled by the, pattern mechanism. The connections between the shifting shuttle boxes 13 and the arm 18 con-' sist of a vertically reciprocating rod 19 and a'link 20 pivoted at its lower end tothe rod 19 and at its upper end to the arm 18. The

filling magazine 14- is constructed to move in unison with the shifting'shuttle boxes 13 so that, wh n the lay is on its forward center, a bobbin containing filling of the same color and character as the filling in the, active shuttle will bepositioned over the fixed shuttle box 11. ments of the filling magazine 14 are imparted to it by the arm 18. The connections between the magazine 14: and the arm 18 consist of a bell crank lever 22'pivoted to the loom frame, and a link 23 the'upper end of which is articulated with the lowerarm 241 of the bell crank lever 22 by means of a pin and slot connection in order to regulate the extent of movement of the magazine 14. The lower end of the link 23 is pivoted to the arm 18. The parts above enumerated, their actuating mechanism and their mode of operation, together with other parts of the loom necessary to a disclosure of the present invention, are well-known and understood by'those skilled in the art without further explanation.

The improved filling. feele'r mechanism operates when the filling in the active shutt le has been exhausted to a predetermined extent, to bring the parts of the weft repleni'shing mechanism'into position to ef fect weft replenishment, by the time the The reciprocatory move-v lay reaches its forward center, on thesame beat upon which the filling feeling opera- 'tion takes placeu To permit the filling feel-.

ing operation and the weft. replenishing ward end or shank of the filling feeler 25 bracket 21 secured to the right-ha .d ;end of the breast beam 29. The filling f lei 25 is yieldingly pressed toward the lay and is normally in position to be engaged by the is receivedfin 'a housing 28 mounted jlpon a operation to take place on the same forward beat of the lay, the filling feeler-mecha-- nism is situated on the same side of the loom asthe weft replenishing mechanism.

filling in the active shuttle when the shuttle is boxed at the right-hand end of the lay. Pivoted on the rearward end of the filling feeler 25 just forward of the filling engaging tip 26, isa feel'er controller '30 having a shuttle engagingtip 31 and a transferrer latch actuator 32 extending forwardly toward the breast beam. The shuttle engaging tip 31 is threaded on its forward end and is received in a threaded hole in an troller, so that it may be adjusted relatively to the filling engaging tip 26. .A. checknut nae met'goee m clji stedyi -position. When a substantial ,amoimtbf filling rema'ins on the bobbin in thejactive slu1ttle, jthe filling engaging tip cloes not' strikeithe front wall 01. the

alg'f shnttley but when the filling has been ex- 'l heiistecl "toie predetermineclextent, the shut. .tlejengaging tipBI is contacted by the from; 'lw'ztll, ofxthe shuttle so that the feelei controllen 30 is oscillated "on its pivot and the forward endrof "the transfen'er leteh actuj-ator -32is depressecl until it rests on the d pper surface of the filling ifeeler housing 28.:a1'pon which/it slicle's't o the point of engagement with eepert of the Weft replenish iifgqtnechenism; whereupon, the Weft replenishi'ng mechanismis aotuateclto efi ect thetransfer, of? fresh supply of filling in "the avctiYel-shu'ttle.

The filling f'eeler 2-5 is normellyin positi on to be'engagml-by the filling in the active shuttle hen-the shuttle is boxed on the right-hamlentloithe lay, and after the determination of. the em'ount of filling in the 1a cti've shuttle by the filling engaging tip, 1.4: "the filling ,feeler 25 is' retraetedirom before the: forwer'clly bee-ting lay in. order thet the filling engeging tip i'i may not interfere withthe insertion'oi it fresh supply bill?- inthe shuttle. The means for retracting 5 theifilling taller-25frolnbeforethe'ley com prises e filling;lfeelei controlling cem 36- 5%:-v ciired to the cam" shaft 37. The eonnections between the filling i'eelerv 25 and the filling 'teelepjeontrollingcam 36 consist of a lever SSmitfoted at, 39ito the loom frame, and e bell crnnlt levertl pivoted at 41' to the frame of tl1e l00111., -z i?l1e;p138? end Oflll'le vertically- (lisposetl aim'LQ of the bellera nklever" lOgis erticnleted with the forward end of 1 theshzin-l; .otthe filling iffeeler 25 by a pin nml-slot connection 43; and the'hoiizont'ally i lisposecl z tm 44o? the bell emnk lever 40 is artiqleited with the fx'ee end'ofthe'lever 38 by e p in slot connection in order that I the amount ofmovementimperted'to the filling feeler 25. by the filling feeler control- .lingcmn 38 mayber'egulatecl. The free end o'f-, th'e horizontally disposer arm 44 ofthe bell oiank lever 40 is provided with a; verti e'a-llj lgxlisfi seal slot 4'5, 'andthe free'eml of the level; 38 is provided with a-longituclihihlly ,(lisposed slot 46. The, arm 44 end the lemmas, ttie jcoi inected by e belt it "which "though;theslotsfi endl 46. The po- 'sition of, .the bolti'l. iii the slot-4:5 determines the erhou'ntiofjthrowof the filling feeler25. W henfthem nt d throw of the filling feeler 25 ie determinecl, thehelt is securecl to the me in egljiisteel position in the slot "The? eonstriietion of the slotted end of. l the le nag-and its'connectionawiththe firm. .QtitlirQfighgthepih e7, is s i'oh that when the IeVerBSis'aCtuateki byithe. cam 86, therei's 9..

e5. movement of the 'slot46f0n thepin 47; As

-gaging tip 26;-when there is a substantial 'arm ofth'e trensferrei hemmer, 56 like 'transfe'rmer hammer 56 is pivoted M 57 on it show-n in- Fig. 1, the filling feeler is at the limit of 1% rearward movement toward the lay in position to determine the amount of filling on the bobbin in the active shuttleon the next-forward beat of the lay. When the filling feele'r is in this position, a roll carried by the lever 38 is out of engagement Withthe cam 36; -i'm1ize6lietely after the enghgement-oi thelilling with the filling en- 7 Z 5 amount of filling 'orlthe b0bbin,,end the engagement of the-front well of the shuttle with the shuttle engaging in 3l,-when the ffilling has been exhausted to it predetermined 'extent the eetive part fit) of the cam 36 S0 contaets'with the toll e9,,the1'ehy lifting the forward end of the lever 3'8. The upward movementvof the free-end oil the lever 38 oscillates the bellermi'lcleverfltl on its pivot I 41 'a'ndiswings the vertically rlisposecl arm of the levercO to the left Theinotenient of the arm 42 to the left draws the filling feeler 3 25 forward out of the path of the ley, and if eritical exhaustion of filling is imlieeted, thereby permits filling replenishment to take plaee at the 'requisite'timef It willwb e observed that the distances between the working ends of the .lQtQlf 38 and of the'loell cmnkrlevei lfl to their fulerums and to their poi'ntsof application respectively, are siieh theta very slight movement upwerrlj'of the r oll 49-oerriecl b v'the level" 38 suliices to inopert e considerable.longituiiinel nioyement relatively to the filling feelez" 25, sot-hat the retreat of the'fillingieeler before; the l'ayis extremely rapid. "f i i When eritieal exhaustion of filling inj-the active shuttle has been; indicated and front wall of thejshuttle eon-teets with the shuttle engegi ng tip. 31 ,'-thereby oscillating the ieeler controller 30 on its pivot until the forward encl=of-the transferrer latch 'aetw ator 32 rests on the upper sin-face of the fill ing feelei' housing-28,+the forward mov'ement of the end of the transferrer let-oh actuator brings it; into engagement With an .iibutmen't 52 pro eeting upwardly from- .transferrer latch 53" pw0ted at to the lower eXt-I'e'noityof a downwei'dlyex't nding braket'fiS seemed to the "breast team A spring 59 encircles the pivot pine? and tends to maintain the "tmn'sfei'i'er hammer: if: raised position. "The'centinned forwit'l' il movement of the, 'trehsfeigi-erfleteh act ator 32 after its engagement with the abutment 52, causes the trans'terre'rlateh 53-60 swing on its pivot 54- untillthe;reel-Ward e1iclf (if. the latch 53 is'lorought. Iinte the path of movement of a buntei tlit secured to thefront ofithe'ley-S. engegementoi'thetr: s:

ferret latch 53 with e' stoif tifi d etemnn ,he operative position of theletelt The i'lle'.

tion of the transferee? latch 53." s t igigs 1'31 i upper! end of the abutment 52 out of the path .movement-of the end of the transferrer latch actuator 32, but the disengagement of the abutment 52 from tlieend of the actu- 5.atr does not take place until after the hunter. 61 has struckthe rearward end of the transferrer latch 53. After the hunter 'filfhas contacted with the end of the latch 53,

T a shoulder 63 projecting rearwardly from the latch 53 prevents the disengagement of the latch from the hunter.

It sometimes happens that the shuttle is not properly boxed in the shuttle box on the weft replenishing side of the loom, that is to say, the shuttle does not come to restin position to permit a bobbin with a fresh supply of filling to be inserted in the shuttle; If at such times the transferrer hammer is actuated to transfer a new bobbin into the shuttle, a serious accident is likely to occur. To prevent such contingency, 'looms are commonly provided with a device known in the weaving art as a revoker, which effectively prevents the ope-ration of the weft replenishing mechanism when the shuttle is improperly boxed. The filling engaging tip -26 of the present invention is so constructed --that one part thereof, namely, the left-hand end 64 which projects rearwardly toward the bobbin slightly farther than the right-handend, performs the filling feeling function while the right-hand,

end 65 of the filling engaging tip is utilized by the fillingprevents the engagement of 65 the shuttle engaging tip by'the shuttle; but, when the filling. has been exhausted to a a predetermined extent, the shuttle engaging tip 31 is contacted by the front wallofthe' shuttle, as shown in Fig. 2, and the forward 70 ,end of I the transferrer latcl actua'tor is brought into engagement., w th,thef-abut ment 52. The continued"forwartfiniovement I of the lay pushes forward" the actuator 32,; thereby causingthe transferrei"llatch 53 to 75. swing on its pivot 54 until thelrearward end of the latch is positioned in the path of the advancing hunter 61. As the lay continue's' its'forward movement, the pressure exert-I" ed upon the transferrer latch 53 oscillates 80 the transferrer hammer 56 onits pivot 57;- until the bobbin engaging. end' of, thetrans ferrer hammer 56 strikes the bobbin in the compartment over the active shuttle, forc= ing it into the shuttle; whereupon, the exhausted bobbin drops through the recess in the lay provided for that'purpose. IImmei diatcly after the bunter 61 has engaged the" rearward end of the latch53 and before the filling replenishment takes place, the active part 50 of the cam 36 strikes the roll 49 carried by the lever38, sothat the filling feeder-25 is retracted out of the'shuttle in time for thefilling replenishing operation.

Having thus illustrated and described a 95 specific embodiment of'theinvention, What is claimed is:---

as a rev'oker. The utilization of the right 1. A weft replenishing loom having, in

hand end ofthe filling engaging tip 26 as a revoke]? is effected by projecting the right-hand end of'the filling engagingtip laterally a sufficient distance'so that, when the shuttle is notproperly boxed, the right hand end 65 of 'the filling engaging tip Will- "come in contact With the front wall of the shuttle. The engagement of the part 65 of the-filling engaging tip with the front Wall of the shuttle prevents the shuttle engaging tip 31 from contacting with-the front wall of the shuttle when the filling has been exhausted-tea predetermined extent: consequently, the feeler controller 30 is prevented from oscillating on its pivot, thereby preventing the end of the transferrer latch actuator 32 from engaging with the abutment 52 of the transferrer latch. The failure of the trans ferrer latch actuator 32 to engage'the abutment 52 results in the trans 5f ferrer latch maintaining its'inoperative po ,sition and the consequent non-operation of the filling replenishing mechanism. It is apparent, therefore, that the present construction. of filling, feeler eliminates the necessity of providing'theloom with a separate revoker.

' So long as a substantial amount of filling remains on the bobbin'in the active shuttle,

- the engagement of the filling engaging tip of, the hunter.

combination. a lay, a hunter mounted on the lay, a shuttle, a weft replenishing mechanism including a transferrer latch, and a filling feeler mechanism mounted on the breast beam on the same side of the loom with the weft replenishing mechanism comprising, a filling 'feeler and a feeler controller having provision by virtue of which, when the'filling in the shuttle is exhausted to a predetermined extent, the transferrer latch is positioned in the path of movement 11* i 2. A weft replenishing loom having, in combination, a lay, a hunter on the lay, a shuttle, a weft replenishing mechanism having a transferrer latch,"and a filling feeler mechanism mounted on the breast beam on the same side of-the loom with the weft. replenishing mechanism comprising, a fill-r ing feeler and 'afeelercontroller including a transferrer latch actuator adapted, upon predetermined "exhaustion of filling in. the shuttlajto' actuate the transferrer' latch so that it. may. be engaged by the hunter.

3.- A weft replenishing loom having, in. combination, a lay," a hunter, a shuttle, a weft replenishing mechanismpand a filling feeler mechanism located forward of the lay on the same side of the loom with the weft replenishing mechanism 'having provision by virtue of which, when the filling in the shuttle is exhausted to a predetermined eX-.

tent, the weft replenishing. mechanism is caused toefiect filling replenishment,"said fillin g feeler' mechanism comprising a [filling feeler having a filling engaging up con structed and arranged to prevent the operation of the weft replenishing mechanism when the: shuttle is not properly boxed.

L A weft replenishing loom having, in combiriation, a lay, a buntermounted on'thc lay, a Weft replenishing" mechanism including a transferrer latch having an abutment,

and a filling feeler mechanism. comprising,

a filling feeler and a feeler controller haw inga transferrer latch actuator, said transferrer. latch actuator being constructed and arranged to be out of engagement with the abutment whenthere is 1 a substantial. amount of filling'in the shuttle, and to con- 'tact with the abutment when the filling is exhausted toa predetermined extent to ac-' tnate the transferrer latch and bring it into :the path of movement of the hunter.

-5. A weft replenishing loom having, in

combination, a lay, a, hunter, a shuttle, a

weft replenishing mechanism including a transferrer latch, and a filling feele'r mechanism mounted on the breast beam on the same side ofthe loom as the weft replenishing mechanism, said filling fceler mechanism comprising, a filling feeler, a controller,a

cam, and connections between the filling feeler and the cam.

- 6. A weft replenishing loom having, in combination, a lay. a shuttle, a weft replenishing mechanism, and a filling feelermech 'a'nism' located forward of the lay having provision by virtue of which when filling in the shuttle "is exhausted to. a predeterminbd extent, the weft replenishing mechanism is caused toefiect filling replenishment, said fi ling feeler mechanism comprising a fecler controller adapted .to-be brought into engagement with a part of! the weft replen ishing mechanism on predetermined exhaustion of filling, and a filling feeler havin a; filling engaging tip constructed and arranged to prevent the operation of the weft replenishing inechanisnr when the shuttleis not properly bbxed on the Weft replenishing side of the loom.

7. A weft replenishing loom having, in combination, a lay, a shuttle, a hunter mounted. on the lay, a weft replenishing mechanism including a transferrer latch and arr-abutment on the latch projecting upwardly therefrom, and a filling feeler mech anism mounted on the same side of the loom with the weft replenishing mechanism comprising, a filling feeler and a feeler con troller having a transferrer-latch actuator being. constructed and/ arranged to be out or engagement with the abutment when there is a substantial amountof filli-ng in the shuttle, and tocontact with the abutment hen the fillingis exhausted to a predetermined cxtent, to actuate the trans movement of thebui'iter, a y l 8: A weft replenishing jferrer latch and bring it into the path of a loom having, in

combination, a lay, a bunter'on the lay, a shuttle, a filling feeler mechanism comprlsing, a filling feeler, a feeler controlleg, and a transfcrrer latch actuator adapted to be in raised position when the shuttle does not contactwith the controller,and to be depressed when the shuttle contacts with-the controller on predetermined exhaustion .of

filling, and a transferrer mechanism including a latch, an abutment-on the latch projecting upwardly into the path of movement of the transferrer latch actuator when the latter is depressed, and adapted to he en gaged thereby to bring the latch into the path of movement of the bunterfi 9. A Weft replenishing loom having, in

combination, a lay, a hunter on the lay, a

shuttle, a filling't'eeler mechanism compristransferrer latch when the latter is depressed, and adapted to be engaged thereby to bring: the latch intoth'e path of movement of the hunter. v

10. A weft replenishing loom having in combination, alay, a shuttle, a filling feeler mechanism comprising,a filling feeler mov'- able toward and from the lay, a housing in which the filling feeler is received, a feeler controller mounted on the filling feeler having, a transferrer latch actuator adapted ,to slide on the housing when'the filling is exhausted to a predetermined extent, and a trausfcrr'cr mechanism including a latch and an abutment on the latch, located adjacent the housing and projecting upwardly beyond the upper surface thereof and adapted to be engaged by-the actuatbr when the latter slides on the housing.

11. A weft replenishing loom having, in combination, a lay, a bun-tel on the lay, shuttle, weft replenishing mechanism including a filling feeler, and a. ieelcr con troller'having a latch actuator constructed and arranged .to be brought iuto engagement with the latch to position it, in the l eluding a latch, filling feelcr mechanism inpath of movement of the'bunter on the beat I up of the lay on which critical exhaustion ofthe filling in the shuttle is detected by the filling feeler mechanism.

12. A Weft replenishing loom having, in combination, a lay, a hunter on the lay, an shuttle, Weft replenishing mechanism having a latch, filling feeler mechanism including a filling feel and a controller therefor having a latch actuator constructed aml arranged to be brought into engagement'with the latch on the indication of critical exhaustion of filling in the shuttle by the filling feeler, to position it in the path of'movement of the hunter. 4

WILLIAM H. RANKIN. 

